How to connect a Bluetooth device to your Car Audio System

Bluetooth pairing & connecting your device

In this example, we will explain the pairing procedure between a Car Audio unit/system and a smartphone. Bluetooth pairing is only required the first time you want to connect a new device to your Car Audio System. The Car Audio Unit and the smartphone will recognise each other and connect automatically from the next time on.

Note that you can always check the pairing procedure in your product manual, available on the product page on this support website.

Activate Bluetooth on your Car Audio by pressing HOME, and going into the [Settings] menu.

In the [Settings] menu, find [Bluetooth Connection].

Select [Pairing].

This action will put your device into pairing mode, making it discoverable for other Bluetooth devices. That means that you will be able to detect it with your smartphone. Look in the list of “Available devices” in your smartphone’s Bluetooth menu.

Make sure that you have enabled Bluetooth on your smartphone too. Smartphones generally will automatically be in pairing mode once Bluetooth is enabled. Note that this is NOT the case for Car Audio systems. You need to make it discoverable.

The Car Audio System should appear in the section “Available devices” in your smartphone Bluetooth menu. Click to select & pair.

Note: Depending on your model, you might have to look in the “Available devices” section of your Car Audio System and find your smartphone. Click to select & pair.

Depending on the model, you might be asked to enter a passkey (0000) or to verify if the passkey displayed matches on both devices.

It’s a control mechanism to be sure that you’re connecting the right devices.

Once pairing is completed, the Car Audio System and Bluetooth playback device (e.g. smartphone) will memorise each other’s Bluetooth information, making it possible for them to connect in the future easily.

If Bluetooth is enabled on your smartphone once you turn on the ignition, the Car Audio System searches for the last-connected Bluetooth device and automatically connects with it.

Once the connection is complete, you’ll see a verification message. Notice how the Bluetooth symbol on your smartphone ever slightly changes once it is connected with a device.

Additional tips & hints on Bluetooth pairing

You can only have one active Bluetooth connection. If you connect another device, it will replace the previous Bluetooth connection.

If a Bluetooth device is connected to the Car Audio system, it must be disconnected before a new device can be detected.

You can have the pairing information of multiple Bluetooth devices stored in your Bluetooth list. Once you store more than eight devices, the oldest device’s information gets deleted.

The time window for pairing is usually limited to a couple of minutes, so if you’ve missed the window of opportunity, please enable pairing mode again.

If you can’t find your Car Audio System in the Bluetooth device list on your smartphone (even though it’s in pairing mode), quickly disable and enable your phone’s Bluetooth. This refreshes the list. Some smartphones offer a Refresh function. However, if it’s not helping, please try to entirely deactivate and reactivate Bluetooth on your smartphone.

If your playback device supports A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), you can listen to music via the Car Audio. You will have to select “Bluetooth” in the music source list. (Other options might be AM/FM radio) or CD. Most modern smartphones are equipped with A2DP. It became a mainstream feature since 2009.

If you’re experiencing recurring issues with Bluetooth pairing, try to delete the current pairing information on the Car Audio unit or smartphone, and recommence the pairing procedure.